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A Dictionary of American History
Contents:
Iroquois Confederacy
Iroquois Confederacy About 1520–40, the prophet Deganawida and his disciple Hiawatha organized a non-aggression pact among five Iroquoian languages nations: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca Indians. The league established itself between the Hudson River and Niagara Falls, and may have included 25,000 members by 1610. The onset of European epidemics in the 1630s probably halved the total population by 1660. The Iroquois tried to replenish these losses by waging war to obtain captives for adoption, and by 1670 the number of foreign Indians among them ranged from a third to half. They also fought a series of beaver wars to control the fur trade. Warfare and continuing epidemics reduced the Five Nations to 8,600 by 1691. By 1701 their participation as English allies in King William’s War cut their numbers to 7,000. They adopted a policy of neutrality between the English and French, and followed it until Sir William Johnson enlisted them on England’s side in the latter part of the Seven Years’ War. They incorporated the Tuscarora Indians as a sixth nation in 1722, and by 1770 their population had grown to 9,000. Joseph Brant led them as British allies during the Revolutionary War, but Sullivan’s campaign despoiled their villages, drove most out of N.Y., and led to widespread starvation. Their numbers may have declined to under 5,000 by 1783. After surrendering extensive land claims in the second treaty of Fort Stanwix and later agreements, they ceased to be ranked as major powers.
Contents:
Chicago: Thomas L. Purvis, "Iroquois Confederacy," A Dictionary of American History in A Dictionary of American History (Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell Reference, 1995), Original Sources, accessed March 18, 2025, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=5BU36LUID3KT3TT.
MLA: Purvis, Thomas L. "Iroquois Confederacy." A Dictionary of American History, in A Dictionary of American History, Cambridge, Mass., Blackwell Reference, 1995, Original Sources. 18 Mar. 2025. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=5BU36LUID3KT3TT.
Harvard: Purvis, TL, 'Iroquois Confederacy' in A Dictionary of American History. cited in 1995, A Dictionary of American History, Blackwell Reference, Cambridge, Mass.. Original Sources, retrieved 18 March 2025, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=5BU36LUID3KT3TT.
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